Shane Flanagan has his contract extension. This is what he wants next for the Red V

Shane Flanagan is backing himself to deliver St George Illawarra premiership success, and with a bit more luck with injuries – and contentious decisions – says his side should have been in the finals race this year.

The Dragons surprised fans on Friday by announcing Flanagan had extended his deal through to the end of 2028, despite the club set to miss the finals a second straight season on his watch.

The 59-year-old was already signed until the end of next year, but with stability at board level, including the appointments of CEO Tim Watsford and recruitment manager Daniel Anderson, the Dragons were happy to nail down their coach.

Flanagan knows the Dragons need to sign at least two top-class representative players, and have the money to “shop in the big-fish pool”.

“We want to go after the elite players,” Flanagan said on Friday. “To play finals football, you need Origin-like players, we’ve only got one at the moment [Valentine Holmes], we’ve had blokes who have been there like ‘Gutho’ (Clint Gutherson) and ‘Cooky’ (Damien Cook), but we need more.

“We’d be happy to get a front-rower and an outside back. Down the track we’ll also need another fullback.

“But the future looks bright. We’ve got some really good kids who have probably been forced to play too much. In the end, it will be better for them.

“We could have played semi-finals this year had a few results gone our way.

“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel, we just need to make sure we win the close ones. There’s not a lot to fix. We’ll get there.”

The Dragons lost by a point to South Sydney, Parramatta and the Warriors, while they lost another four games by a converted try or less. They lost to the Bulldogs in the final minute last month, only for the NRL to later confirm the Dogs’ should never have been awarded a fresh set of six when they scored the winner.

Flanagan won a premiership with the Sharks, knows what success looks like, and said he had become better at delegating his workload. Like all senior coaches who have climbed rugby league’s Everest, they also never question their ability during the tough times.

The Dragons have Daniel Atkinson joining the club from Saturday’s derby rivals Cronulla, while this week prop Josh Kerr agreed to return home from the Dolphins.

Flanagan confirmed Adam Doueihi, who was seen as an ideal No. 13 for Parramatta-bound Jack de Belin, found it too difficult to leave his hometown Wests Tigers.

The Dragons have some excellent juniors in their ranks, including Dylan Egan and the Couchman brothers, Ryan and Toby, who are all injured, along with Hamish Stewart. Another local, Hayden Buchanan, will debut in the centres against Cronulla, with Mat Feagai out with a groin niggle.

The club only has 25 players signed for next year, while Tyrell Sloan has already been told he is free to leave, and Lachie Ilias, who has been stranded in reserve grade, has attracted interest from the Super League.

As for beating Cronulla, and upsetting the Shire club’s late, late push for a top-four berth, Flanagan said: “You only ever want to get the win, but to take the two points from them would be nice.”

Flanagan’s future was never up for debate, but some of his counterparts face a nervous finish to the season, including Adam O’Brien at Newcastle, Des Hasler at the Gold Coast, and North Queensland’s Todd Payten.

Watsford said of Flanagan’s new deal: “Shane has played a critical role in setting the foundation for where this club is heading. He’s re-instilled belief in our playing group, coaches and supporters together with reiterating the privilege of wearing the Red V.”